지난 7월 21일 미 하원에서 만장일치로 통과된 2004 북한인권법안에 대해 짐 리치(공화당 아이오와주 하원의원)는 ‘북한 인권재난에 대한 책임있고 독창적인 조치’라고 말했다.

짐 리치 의원은 이 법안이 잔혹한 북한정권으로부터 탈출한 북한 주민들이 지난 2년 반 동안 의회에 증언을 해왔던 것의 완성본이라고 말하면서 이들 생존자들은 김정일을 ‘전체주의적 독재자’라고 말하고 있으며 그 어떤 반대의사도 허용하지 않을뿐만 아니라 자유, 언론, 종교, 집회의 자유를 엄격히 제한하고 있다고 덧붙였다.

짐 리치 의원은 법안 골자에 대해 다음과 같이 말하였다.

-북 인권과 탈북자 보호를 위한 국제사회의 협조를 증진시키고 북한 주민에게 공급되는 인도적 지원의 투명성을 높이는 것을 목적으로 하고 있으며

- 미 의회는 북한에서의 인권과 민주주의, 법치주의, 시장경제, 정보의 자유를 증진시키는 프로그램에 대한 기금을 마련하고

-유엔인권위에서 북한에 대한 특별한 관심을 기울일 것을 촉구하며

- 미 의회는 탈북자나 고아, 불법거래로 인해 고통받고 있는 북한 주민을 포함하여 북한 지역 외의 북한 주민들에 대한 지원기금을 증가시키고

- 북한 내부로 전달되는 미국의 인도적 지원의 투명성을 더욱 진작시키며

- 국가안보를 위해서는 대통령이 이러한 제한조치들을 거부할 수 있는 재량권을 허용하며

- 탈북자들을 보호하기 위해 미국 법제하에서 북한 주민들의 입국자격을 승인하며

- 유엔고등판무관실이 중국에 있는 북한 주민들에게 접근할 수 있는 가능한 수단들을 이용하도록 촉구한다

짐 리치 의원은 북한인권법안에 대해 ‘북한 정권의 붕괴를 꾀하거나 진행중인 협상에서 영향을 주려는 의도는 없다“고 강조하였다.

(원문)

22 July 2004

House Bill Aims to Improve Human Rights Situation in North Korea

Legislation has "no hidden agenda," Rep. Leach says

The House of Representatives passed by unanimous voice vote on July 21 H.R. 4011, the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004.

In a statement released the same day, Representative Jim Leach, the chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific and the sponsor of the bill, called the measure "a responsible, creative approach to an ongoing human tragedy."

Leach, a Republican from Iowa, said the act is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of testimony to his subcommittee from North Koreans who had survived North Korea's brutal regime.

These survivors described Kim Jung Il's "totalitarian dynasty," which permits no dissent and strictly curtails freedoms of speech, press, religion, and assembly. "The regime," Leach reported, "maintains a brutal system of prison camps that house an estimated 200,000 political inmates who are subjected to slave labor, torture, and even lethal chemical experimentation." Starvation, he added, is rampant throughout most of the country.

Leach was careful to explain what the new legislation would and would not do.

Leach said the act:

-- aims to promote international cooperation on human rights and refugee protection, and increased transparency in the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of North Korea.

-- authorizes funds for programs to promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, a market economy and freedom of information.

-- urges additional North Korea-specific attention by appropriate U.N. human rights authorities.

-- authorizes increased funding for assistance to North Koreans outside North Korea, including refugees, orphans and trafficking victims.

-- endorses, but also seeks greater transparency for, the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid inside North Korea.

-- conditions direct assistance to the North Korean government on human rights and transparency benchmarks, but allows the president to waive those restrictions for national security purposes.

-- requires, in terms of refugee protection, a formal clarification of U.S. policy and affirms the eligibility of North Koreans to seek protection as refugees under U.S. law.

-- urges the U.N. high commissioner for refugees to use all available means to gain access to North Koreans in China.

Leach emphasized that H.R. 4011 has "no hidden agenda" and "is a purely humanitarian endeavor."

The congressman said the legislation "is not a pretext for a hidden strategy to provoke regime collapse or to seek collateral advantage in ongoing strategic negotiations."

Additionally, even though China has not lived up to its international obligations regarding the North Korean refugees who seek safety within its borders, the bill's references to China are "not solely critical" but "aspirational," Leach said.

The United States "and the international community stand ready to provide more assistance to help defray the costs associated with the North Korean migrant presence when China begins fulfilling its obligations as a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention," Leach said.

Following is the text of Leach's prepared statement:

(begin text)

Statement of Rep. James A. Leach

Floor consideration of H.R. 4011

The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004

[Washington, D.C.]

July 21, 2004

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

During the past two and a half years, the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific has received testimony from a number of North Koreans who have survived some of the greatest rigors of the human condition. Their accounts buttress the growing awareness that the people of North Korea have endured some of the most acute humanitarian traumas of our time.

Inside North Korea, they suffer at the hands of a totalitarian dynasty that permits no dissent and strictly curtails freedoms of speech, press, religion, and assembly. The regime maintains a brutal system of prison camps that house an estimated 200,000 political inmates who are subjected to slave labor, torture, and even lethal chemical experimentation. Since the collapse of the centralized agricultural system in the 1990s, more than 2,000,000 North Koreans are estimated to have died of starvation.

North Koreans outside of North Korea are also uniquely vulnerable. Many thousands are hiding inside China, which currently refuses to allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to evaluate and identify genuine refugees among the North Korean migrant population. China forcibly returns North Koreans to North Korea, where they routinely face imprisonment and torture, and sometimes execution. Inside China, North Korean women and girls are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Provoked by these crises, this broadly bipartisan legislation aims to promote international cooperation on human rights and refugee protection, and increased transparency in the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of North Korea.

On the human rights front, the bill underscores the importance of human rights issues in future negotiations with North Korea. It authorizes funds for programs to promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, a market economy, and freedom of information. It also urges additional North Korea-specific attention by appropriate UN human rights authorities.

On the humanitarian front, the bill authorizes increased funding for assistance to North Koreans outside of North Korea, including refugees, orphans, and trafficking victims. It endorses, but also seeks greater transparency for, the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid inside North Korea. Finally, it would condition direct assistance to the North Korean government on human rights and transparency benchmarks, but allows the President to waive those restrictions for national security purposes.

In terms of refugee protection, the bill requires a formal clarification of U.S. policy and affirms the eligibility of North Koreans to seek protection as refugees under U.S. law. It also urges the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to use all available means to gain access to North Koreans in China. Although the principal responsibility for North Korean refugee resettlement naturally falls to the Government of South Korea, the United States should play a leadership role in focusing international attention on the plight of these refugees and formulating international solutions to their profound humanitarian dilemma.

I want to remove any danger that overseas audiences may misunderstand the intent or content of this bill. Allow me to state unequivocally: This legislation is a purely humanitarian endeavor; there is no hidden agenda. Indeed, the Committee of jurisdiction is deeply indebted to the concerns expressed by thousands of American citizens of Korean descent, who are convinced that for too long the international community has largely ignored the plight of their brethren in the North. As explained in the Report of the Committee on International Relations: "H.R. 4011 is motivated by a genuine desire for improvements in human rights, refugee protection, and humanitarian transparency. It is not a pretext for a hidden strategy to provoke regime collapse or to seek collateral advantage in ongoing strategic negotiations. While the legislation highlights numerous egregious abuses, the [Congress] remains willing to recognize progress in the future, and hopes for such an opportunity."

Similarly, with regard to China, this bill is not solely critical, it is also aspirational. It makes clear that the United States and the international community stand ready to provide more assistance to help defray the costs associated with the North Korean migrant presence when China begins fulfilling its obligations as a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. We genuinely hope for that opportunity also.

I would like to thank my colleagues for their strong, bipartisan endorsement of this bill. In particular, I would like express my gratitude to the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on the Judiciary for their expert consideration, and to the House Leadership for promptly scheduling this important legislation. Finally, I would like to thank Senator Sam Brownback, whose leadership in the other body has both informed and inspired House action on these issues.

H.R. 4011 is a responsible, creative approach to an ongoing human tragedy, and deserves our unanimous support. I reserve the balance of my time.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov